The Journal of Creighton Dallorius...

[Creighton]

*Just simply can not sleep...hears her writing in her journal, pretends to sleep, but still smiling...waits for a while after the candle goes out, then rises himself, takes up his journal and writes by firelight*

I thought I had reached the apex of happiness when I found this woman beside me.

Now, it is through her, that I have been proven wrong.

*feels himself grinning, as though his face would split...almost laughs at this realization, but stops himself*

I am to be a father.

*stares at that line for long moments...long enough for a drop of ink to fall from the quill and blot the page*

I...I feel I should write something more, but

*trails off here, gently places his hand on her stomach, smiling wider still and begins to whisper very softly*

"What a lucky one you are, little one...you will have such a wonderful mother, such wonderful surrogate aunts and uncles..."

*remembers holding Tear, one of Ash's children, and the simple joy he held with her*

"And cousins as well!"

*takes his hand back and stares out the window, looking at the stars a moment, then back to his wife and unborn child*

"And I swear, by my life, that I will do all I can to be the best father that I can possibly be."

*looks back to the page to write more, but finds he has no more words...puts away the quill and returns the journal to the mantel...throws another log on the fire before curling next to his wife on the cushions, holding her in his arms, and, STILL smiling, drifts off to sleep*

[Creighton]

*Staggers blindly into his living room, not sure how he got there...he focuses in and out, glancing about, knowing something is missing, but wha-*

"Tyrian!" he suddenly shouts.

*eyes widen as he searches the house, his brush again with the Soul Mother so soon breeding an irrational urgency...*

"Where is Tyrian?" He thinks, almost frantic.

"My child!?"

*stands defiant in the house, looking about with his sword in hand, seeking his family, or any threat to them...slowly, reality begins to set back in, and he notices the cold emptiness from his brush with final death, and looks down to see his blood staining the rug*

"Oh no," he says aloud, his sword extinguishing as it drops to the floor.  He holds up his hand, seeing where his life blood has been running from his fingertips, and a resigned grin crosses his features...

"Ty will be so upset..."

*passes out in the floor, a clatter of armor and dead weight*

[Creighton]

*wakes to find his wounds tended and the sheets clean...but the house is empty...gets up, gets dressed, and heads out the door...something about the way the house is in a bit of disarray tells him that she is upset about something, and he means to find her...heads out the door*

[Creighton]

*Staggers in with Tyrian supporting his bloody frame...strips from his armor...cleans his wounds, bandages are put on...stares in angst at the ceiling for the most part...*

"Toran," he prays silently, "Have I offended you?  Have I been abandoned?"

*sighs and winces as a bandage is tightened*

"Four.  Four times have I seen the Mother, in four days...she seems to be looking for me."

*looks into the concerned eyes of his wife; thinks of the child growing in her womb*

"I must either find out why she seems so intent on my soul, or else retire from adventuring."

*grits his teeth with resolve*

"My child will NOT grow up without a father."

*Lies back on the bed after his tending...in moments, he has passed out from exhaustion and blood loss*

[Creighton]

*wakes late in the day...the afternoon light shining through the windows...he stretches gingerly, testing the healing wounds and torn muscles from his last brush, yet again, with the Soul Mother...he looks again to the light playing across the floor through the window, and after a moment, smiles*

"The Light shows the Way," he says aloud.

*rises and dresses...looking through the house, he wonders where Tyrian is...takes down his journal and writes a brief entry*

--I shall not be cowed.

For life to be worth living, it must be lived.  For Toran, for myself, for my wife, and for my child...I will live.

*closes the book with a smile, puts it away, then sets out to see what adventures await, and to hopefully run across his pregnant wife*

[Creighton]

*Waits for her to sleep, then takes out his journal and puts his pen to the page with a smile*


--It seems Toran has guided me far more than I thought.

Every day I spend with this woman I love her more.

I once believed in a life where I would undoubtedly die alone, and untended, battling to the last over some cause that has raged long before me and will rage long after...I would have been a quickly forgotten, if even considered, statistic.

But here...here this woman, she cares for me...worries for me...spends her hard earned coin on me; coin that she earned with her toil and her skill...she thought I was spending my money on betterments for my armor and weapons, when in reality I merely spent it on healing salves and crafting material...whatever was left I donated.

*unconsciously grins remembering how comical he must have looked to her and Rain at the craft hall this eve*

I never knew the want of coin, thus I don't suppose I have ever learned its value.

*leans over and kisses her cheek...places his hand on her stomach and smiles*

That matters not...the things I value most in this world are asleep beside me now.

*smiles broadly, then adds a line as an afterthought*

I shall have to make some little boots...

*feeling very happy, he puts his journal away and, stoking the fire, climbs under the blanket next to her, falling into a peaceful sleep with her in his arms*

[Creighton]

*enters the house quietly, noticing the lone candle she left burning for him...checks on her to make sure she is comfortable, smiles as he places his hand on her stomach and feels a kick...stokes the fire and takes his journal from the mantel...moves to the kitchen table and, lighting a candle there, sits down to write*

--Tis been too long since I made a simple journal entry.

With all that has been going on with my trifles with the Soul Mother, Tyrian's worries for me, and my learning to begin to view magic as a gift from the gods rather than a sign of weakness, I have neglected to chronicle many of my daily happenings, which is why I began this book in the first place.

I have met many new faces; Mylindra, a cleric of Rofirein, Draden, a Paladin of Toran (who remembers many of the people that I do from the academy); some of these I have met in great campaigns for one reason or another.  Therren, Quantum, Ireth, Sasha, Janice, Dori, and Garnet I have journeyed into Storan's Crypt to yet again face the undead there, travelling with Wren Thendor, the younger brother of the late Glenn Thendor.

Wren has approached me about a group gathering to protect a guild...I wonder what will come of that?  I shall speak to him more of this when again I see him.

Ash, Nepp, and their children...how lovely those children are.  *smiles*  Peace, Destiny, and Tear...

I need to speak with Nepp.  *brow furrows as he writes*  He seems to be becoming erratic; I have seen his painting on the wall of the Wild Surge, and understand he fights in the arena sometime soon.  I must try to see if I can help my friend.

The Stonecutters, save Exodus, whom I have seen occasionally, have been gone for a while.  I miss them.

And Tyrian, beloved Tyrian, with our child that she bears...

*glances back over by the fire with a smile*

She continues to teach me each day.

I love her so.

*this written, he decides to stop writing...blows out the candle on the table...makes his way back to the cushions by the fireplace...removes his armor, puts another log on the fire against the chill, then lies down beside her, snuggling beneath the blankets and drifts to sleep with his arms around her*

[Creighton]

*staggers wildly into the house, his hollow eyes searching for Ty....she is not there...

...gives in to emotion...flings his gear into the floor, smashing his fists into the walls until divots and cracks appear in the stone...and rivulets of blood run from the cuffs of his gauntlets...he sags to the floor, tears of rage filling his eyes...*

"VERY WELL THEN!" he screams to the unfeeling ceiling.

"If it is me you want so badly, then COME AND FACE ME!"

*Takes a deep, hitching breath*  

"YOU WILL FIND THAT I WILL NOT BE SO EASILY TAKEN FROM MY...MY....."

*voice lowers as he begins to fall back*

"My family...."

*collapses into unconsciousness with a clatter, his head swirling with questions before the darkness comes:  Why do I fall to things I so easily bested such a short time ago?  Why did my weapon seem so ineffective, whilst theirs did not seem to miss, nor did they fail to do maximum harm when they hit?  Am I...am I cursed?  What god have I offended?*

[Creighton]

*A letter is left on the table*

My Love,

I have received the call of Toran.

Perhaps this has something to do with the frequent visits of the Soul Mother recently.

I am leaving on yet another quest...I know not how long I will be gone, but I must find these answers.

Know that I love you, and if there were any other way, I would take it.

*tears dot the parchment*

I will do my utmost to return before the quarter-elf enters this world...my utmost.

I love you,

Creighton.

//OOC---Creighton will be out of pocket...I don't know how long.  

My RL has become a firestorm of pure living hell, and I just don't know when I'll be able to get back on.

[Creighton]

*wake suddenly in the darkness, not knowing for a moment where he is...a smile crosses his face as the dream lingers...he saw his wife...and his child....a son!  A son he now has...a tear trickles down his cheek*

"I hope I can go home soon," he says aloud to the darkness, and the echo resounds...followed by a wet, slithering sound that also echoes.

*Draws his sword, the flames lighting the cavern, and with new determination, sets off to finish the tasks of Toran so that he may return*

"I love you, Tyrian," he says with a smile.  

"You and my boy."

[Creighton]

*He awakens, halfway, the sounds of a forest surrounding him, the smell of sea-salt still just barely in the air*

"So close", he thinks...he remembers the kindness of the Toranites in Port Hampshire...he is sorry to have left them as he did, but he had to press on, so long as strength remained in his body...he must.....he must deliver what he has sacrificed so terribly much for...

"So close"; the images of Tyrian fill his mind...so lovely, so full of life...imaginings of what his boy would look like...so big now...three years old...he has missed so much for this...tears well in his eyes, blurring even further the blurred image of the forest that greets his weary, battered eyes...

"Toran...please...if I have displeased you, I will pay...with my life, with my eternity...but let me...give me the strength...give me passage just this one last time...and I will ask nothing more of you..."

His vision begins to blur...despair tightens its icy grip around his heart as he feels the last bit of energy slip from him...

...but as he begins to slump to the ground, a shining essence comes from the darkness....a gleam of shining armor...boots the blue of Toran approach him through the peat and leaves of the forest floor....

"Brother Creighton?" He thinks he hears on the wind...

"I love you, Tyrian," he thinks as all goes black...

"You, and the child that we gave to this world"...

...and oblivion takes him....

[Creighton]

*Wakes in the night...looks about the room and a swell of emotion so powerful that he feels his knees weaken grips him...a tear is blinked away from his eye as he sees memories played out all around him...he eases from the cushions...taking several moments just to look at her, peaceful at rest...he brushes a lock of hair from her cheek, gently, tenderly, almost as if he's afraid she may disappear if he touches too hard...after a time, he goes to the mantle, taking down his journal...he quietly blows three years worth of dust from the leather and sits by the fire, taking up a quill*

Gods, I have not the words...

*scrawled, hurredly...he takes a breath and closes his eyes a moment, then begins again, slowly*

'Tis been three long years since I last sat on this hearth, watched the beauty of this woman as she slept, felt the warmth of this fire...

*pauses, the lump in his throat threatening again*

...the warmth of this love.

*sighs...smiling so that his face may split, and feeling like weeping all at once*

I should write of what has transpired...someday, Chaynce may want to read this...so I write now for my son.

*the pen trails off again as his eyes lock on the nook in the corner of the room where his son sleeps...they linger there a moment, then return to the page*

Chaynce, should you be reading this, and the day has come that you know who I am *And by The Light, please let that day come, he thinks aloud as a faint whisper*, I want you to have a record as to why I did what I did...not to defend or justify, but simply to tell the truth.

The truth is all we ever really have, you know?  Honor is the gift a man gives himself...and no one but he, through his actions, can ever take it away.

*smiles, looking again toward the nook for a moment*

I married the most beautiful, caring, and wonderful woman on all the earth some years ago, my son.  You call her "Mother".  I was brash and young; in so many ways, she was so much wiser than I...

I was, at the time I met her, a paladin of Toran...as a child, my mother, Rhianne, and my father, Chaynce (yes, you have his name and the amulet he made for me years ago) fell victim to a black evil...the walking dead.  I was young...taken in by the Temple of Toran, and there chose what I thought was the path to justice.

*swallows hard...the lump still there, but for a different reason*

T'was only the path to vengeance, I know now.  I studied hard...trained harder....but unbeknownst to me at the time, had no real direction...I sought to wreak the wrath of the Light down upon the heads of Evil wherever it was to be found...but Tyrian, beloved Tyrian, showed me something else.  I fell in love with her hopelessly and completely, and I believe that the Light was there...the Light, I believe, shines the brightest when it shines from love.  

But I still had much to learn.

I was foolhardy...rushing in when good sense should have told me otherwise (and speaking of good sense, your mother often DID tell me otherwise).  

In this ignorance, I made a vow to your mother to one day find her family...your grandparents...she had left them when she was young, and missed them so...

Because of my impetuousness, I had been visited by the dread Soul Mother many times in a short period...I decided that if I was to fulfill my promise to your mother, that I had best hurry whilst I still had time on this earth.  I set about gathering information from what I had gleaned from her journal and, after a time, had a direction.

*scratches his head a moment, re-inks the quill*

I set off hurredly, whilst you were still in her womb.  I expected a quick trip, just to confirm my information, and return with the one bit of news that I thought would make your mother the happiest...

*again, a pang of regret strikes him, and he pauses, looking first to her and then to the nook*

Please, my son, please understand, that I did not...did NOT intend to miss your birth...I...I...

*the pen trails off a moment....he composes himself before continuing*

The journey did not go off as flawlessly as I believed it would...and when I did arrive at my destination...

*Tyrian turns in her sleep, and he pauses a moment, considering...then puts the quill to page once more*

What I found there, and what I learned of life and about myself, will have to be written another night.  There is too much for one entry into this old book, and I wish to return to the embrace that for three years I would have gladly died to experience for just one moment.

I will finish this story, my son...there is so much I want you to know...so much I wish to teach you....

And if the fates allow, I swear to you that I will.

I love you, my son.  With all that I am, and all that I ever will be.

I love you.

*puts the quill away, sets the book down on the hearth without closing it...his mind only focused on crossing the space to stand by the divider and look on the small boy lying in his bed...he smiles broadly, just watching...tears flow unheeded down his cheeks, flowing over his smile...he stands that way for quite a time...time he loses track of...before he finally returns and lies beside his wife, the smell of her hair filling his nostrils and the warmth of her embrace banishing all but the brightest of thoughts as he drifts off*

"Tomorrow," *he whispers as he falls asleep*  "Tomorrow, my life begins anew."

[Creighton]

*gets up and jots a quick note in his journal*

My son, know that at times your father was a fool...not the kind you see at the festivals or somesuch, just the kind that let silly things get in the way.

Know also, that the love of your mother took that away.  T'was she who made me truly complete.

She, and you.

*smiles*

I love your mother and you will all my being.  

*leaves the book on the hearth, and again, walks to the corner by the divider and just watches awhile...then returns to the arms of the wonderful woman that calls him her love...falls asleep with a contented smile on his face*

[Creighton]

*Rises early the next morning to the sounds of clamor in the kitchen...goes in to find Exodus and Chaynce making breakfast...joins in with them, after a few moments of "welcome back, laddie!  Tell me all yer stories!", he begins to revel in the merriment, making a terrible mess and having a ball of it with his son....it's then that he notices that Exodus, noble soul that he is, has discreetly gone to another part of the house to leave father and son alone a while...the time spent is joyous, and he hates to go, but knows he must...he ruffles the boys hair and tells him he will see him soon, and as he passes out the door, he gets a wisened grin and knowing nod from the Stonecutter brother...he smiles back and, looking back one last time to wave to Chaynce, heads out the door with a grin and a confidence to his step*

[Creighton]

*awakes early again to Chaynce pouring grape juice slowly onto his head...comes out of the bed laughing, the boy smiling and running down the hall*

"Can't catch me, Waazk'ah!" He shouts, laughing as only a child can.

"What did he call me?" Creighton thinks, gathering himself from the bed with his half-grin and pursuing the boy to the kitchen, where after a few moments of horseplay *broken up by the gruff but gentle Exodus "Stop tearin' up me howse, ye bloody wreckin' crew!"*, the pair settle at the table to eat what Exo himself prepared (most likely not wanting to clean up another mess).

*After the meal, Chaynce belches heartily (as only a dwarf could teach) and smiles at Creighton*

"I know you have to go, Waazk'ah, just like mommy," the boy's bright eyes hold his father much like those of his mother, "So be careful, OK?"

*Creighton assures the boy he will with another ruffle of his hair, and Chaynce bounces down the hall to his things.

He raises a brow to Exodus*

"What is that he keeps calling me?"

*the Stonecutter grins, a twinkle in his eye*

"E'en he don't know th' meanin', naught yet he don't...but 'tis whut I told 'im 'e should call ye".

* Creighton squints his eyes a bit, studying Exodus with good-natured suspicion*

"Is that so?" he asks, mirth in his voice.

"Azoa, lad," Exodus replies, the twinkle still in his eye, but his expression earnest.

"'Tis 'father'."

*Creighton sits still for a moment, not knowing where the tears in his eyes have sprung from, looking at Exodus smiling a genuine smile to him*

"Soon," Exodus continues, "the time will come fer 'im to know, an' I just wanted 'im to have a good start to 'is learnin'."

*Creighton rises and smiles at his old friend, no words necessary as the dwarf nods to him...glances in to see Chaynce playing happily, the makes his way out the door*

[Creighton]

*Awakens, surprised to find the clamor in the kitchen this morning is his son and his wife...smiles broadly as he makes his way to them, getting a gentle smile from Tyrian and a wry smirk from Chaynce*

"Mommy says we are to picnic today, Waazk'ah!"

*Creighton arches his brow toward Ty, who responds in kind*

"A picnic?" He asks the boy, looking back to him with his half-grin, "That's a wonderful idea."

*Chaynce gives out a little cheer, and dashes to his nook in the corner to gather his things...Creighton turns to Tyrian and speaks softly*

"Where shall we go?"

*She smiles that smile he knows so well*

"That place," she begins, "where the wagons sit and the rain stops for us."

*his smile widens, and he kisses her gently; as he pulls away, he whispers to her again*

"I love you."

*she closes her eyes and nods, smiling as she opens them again*

"And I you.  Just don't go flying off on some crusade for comfrey or aloe, eh?  Today is for..."

*She pauses a moment, glancing toward the nook where their son is cinching the strings on his knapsack, grinning, then back to her husband*

"Today is for us." she finishes.

*Creighton smiles broadly, swelling with emotion...Chaynce bounces back to them*

"Are we going?!" he demands.  "Are we going?!"

*Creighton and Tyrian share a smile, she rolling her eyes just the slightest, and Creighton ruffles the boy's hair*

"Indeed sir!" he says to his son. He turns and extends his hand to his wife. "Shall we go?"

*Tyrian takes his hand and grasps the basket she had prepared with her other hand*

"Thought you'd never ask," she grins.

*They move, as a family, toward the door, Creighton caught up in this moment of penultimate joy for him...a day away from adventuring...a day of peace...a day with the most important people in the whole of the world to him....

...he is content*

[Creighton]

*The family returns late...a marvelous day spent with his wife and son....the picnic, the walking, the conversations...the plethora of questions about anything and everything from Chaynce....he is literally drained from the joy he has experienced this day...*

*As they enter, he carrying Chaynce's sleeping form, Tyrian opening the doors and spontaneously igniting candles as she goes, he spots his journal lying open still on the hearth....he gently places his son in his bed, smiling at the child for a moment, wiping a smudge of dirt from his forehead...he turns to see his wife simply smiling at him, no words needing to be said...*

*He and Tyrian quietly make their way to their bedroom, both awash in the happiness they have shared together with their boy this day...he eyes his journal again, knowing he should sit and make a lengthy entry for some of the things that have transpired these past days...but he decides that it would not be a good way to end THIS day....he and his wife retire for the evening, falling swiftly into an exhausted but happy slumber in each others arms*

[Creighton]

*Comes in quietly...goes immediately to check the bedroom to find Tyrian sound asleep...her wounds bound, and resting comfortably...he pauses a moment, just to look at her, and brushes a lock of hair from her cheek...she sighs and smiles in her slumber, and his heart swells....*

*He goes back out to where Chaynce sleeps...the boy is almost angelic in his rest, and Creighton cannot help but stare long moments, pride and love filling his soul...*

*After uncounted moments, he pulls himself away from the nook to go over to the fireplace, where his journal sits, waiting for him...he sits next to it and stares at it, remembering his conversation just a half-hour ago...considers for a moment, then takes his quill and begins to write*

Whilst I was away, Tyrian was devastated.  I left her pregnant, and with no word as to where I was off to.  

Granted, I thought my journey would not last more than a fortnight or two...but that does not change the pain I have put her through.  The fact that she forgives, and that she still considers me, in her words, her only true love, the love of her life, is a testament to the woman that she is, and the love she has for me.

In my absence, when all hope was lost, she found comfort in the arms of another.  Not comfort that would disgrace her vows to me, no...

*he pauses, regret and understanding blending in his soul*

Nay, she remained faithful in body and spirit, despite all...but her heart needed solace, and it was given.

*Pauses again...thinking about his words before committing them to the book*

Tonight, I spoke at length with he who gave this comfort.

He was, and thankfully, still IS my friend...he was harsh with me, accusing, judgemental...but he had every right to be.  What I did...what I had always done before, was impetuous and without wisdom.  I told him that I thought he misjudged me, but also that I understood why.  I also thanked him for being a comfort to Ty...what I learned in my time that I was gone has changed me...we spoke much more, I trying to explain myself to him...not to make excuses, no...but for him to understand that my intentions were always for the best, just without wisdom...and that through my ordeal whilst I was gone, that I had found a higher purpose: my wife and my child...and living for them, without the foolishness of youth...

After we spoke, he said he believed there was truth in my words, and that he saw this; that my quest to become a whole man, husband, and father, was one that I could achieve.

*smiles earnestly*

I cannot find the words to express what that means to me.

I asked him two questions, questions that he was uniquely qualified to answer, and his answers were as wise and honorable as any I have ever heard.

Yes, he said, without a doubt, Tyrian's love for me is true...I did not ask this because I doubt Ty...no, she has nothing to prove to me...I asked because he was there when I was not, and I knew...I knew that he would know her heart in my absence...to know that her love for me never abated, even when she was certain that I was lost forever...

*tears well in his eyes...he wipes them away*

I just needed to hear that.  Knowing that gave me hope for myself...more than my skill with a sword, more than my abilities as a crafter...this gave me hope as a man.

*pauses yet again, reliving the conversation in his head*

My second question for his wisdom is one that I have wrestled with much of late:
 
Do I deserve such love?  

His answer was one I did not expect, yet was the only one that makes any sense: that my feeling unworthy of such love was a good thing; indeed, it ensures that I will not take her for granted, and that I will strive every day with all my soul to be to her what she is to me.

He convinced me that despite my past, my foolishness, all of it, that Tyrian believes in me...

...and so does he.

*chooses his next sentence carefully, writing with conviction born from his very soul*

I will live my every breath, from the one I breathe now to my last, to justify such faith.

*re-inks the quill, then resoultely pens the next line*

You are my friend, Ifion.  And I am far, far richer because of it.

*smiles...puts away the quill and ink, dusts the page, and replaces the book on the shelf....throws another log on the fire and stokes it well, making sure the screen is in front of it when he's done...goes once more to Chaynce, kissing the boy on the forehead...makes his way to his room, undresses and crawls between the covers...when he does, Tyrian turns in her sleep and puts her arms around him, sighing a contented sigh....and he smiles to the dark ceiling, knowing that his life is whole at last*

"Thank you, Ifion," he thinks..."Thank you for giving me the last bit of confidence I needed, and removing whatever doubts in myself that remained."

*he gently pulls her close, and drifts off into a blissful sleep*

[Creighton]

*rises in the night, somehow uncomfortable after knowing that the "law" here can come and go freely...checks to make sure she is all right, then immediately goes to his son...satisfied that all is well, he returns to where the fireplace was...picks up his journal from where it was left on the floor, finds a quill, and begins to write*

Today I traveled with two fine groups of adventurers...some old friends, some new.  We ventured forth first to combat the undead in the Nameless Crypts...many of our group fell, my beloved among them...thank the gods she was not visited by the Mother...

I, however, using the tactics I have learned in my...my ordeal, along with three stout companions, managed to fight our way out with our skins intact.

This is a testament, I think.  

Later, Ifion had a group to rid Hlint of the menace of the Lizard Warlord...and again, a fine group was assembled.  Again, teamwork and tactics won the day, and we all left there in victory.

*sighs...looks over at the love of his life, and although feels more self-assured, mature, and confident than he has in some time outside of battle, he feels...uneasy*

I fear my love does not know what to do with me.  

*frowns a bit*

I believe she loves me; indeed, I have no doubt...but she seems often to not know how to react to me.  

*stares at her a moment*

I understand, I do...number one, I was gone for so very long, that she got used to being alone, and two, although my soul and my heart are the same, I am in many ways a very different man.

*a lump begins to form in his throat, but he grits his teeth with a resolve that surprises even himself*

It matters not.  WHO I am is the same....WHAT I am...well, it's what I should have always been...who she always wanted me to be...and in time, I have faith that all will be as it was...nay, BETTER than it was before.

*she turns in her sleep...her arm seeking him out in her slumber before settling*

Still...I should.. *trails off*

I will speak to her of this in the morning.  I want to make sure that if she is ill at ease, that we get it out in the open and deal with it, put it behind us...our future is to bright to be shaded by any doubts or misunderstandings.

*smiles*

And Chaynce...if you are reading this (and you SHOULD be, one day), know this:  I love your mother.

And I think, perhaps soon...you should know who your father is.

*smiles and thinks to himself*

"Waazk'ah, indeed."

*puts the book down, checks the fire one last time, then returns to her side...she turns to rest her head on his shoulder as he puts his arms around her...he feels the warmth of her flow through him, and drifts off to sleep*

[Creighton]

*awakens yet again...unable to sleep...he sits up and rubs his eyes, sighing deeply...he looks at her lying next to him and smiles...rises and dresses, checks on his son...and as always, stands a moment, lost in thoughts of who this youngster will be...makes sure he is covered well...does the same for his wife...then stops at the kitchen table, lighting a candle and taking a piece of parchment...he writes a letter to his wife, leaving it where she will see it...kisses his son on the forehead, kisses his wife on the cheek...then takes up his pick-axe and heads out into the first light on the horizon*

//letter to be sent as a PM:)